Course Assessment On Oral Communication Intensive Laboratory

The Mechanical Engineering Program at Youngstown State University requires its students to take four physical laboratory courses directly related to mechanical engineering. Fluid Dynamics Laboratory and Thermal Fluid Applications Laboratory are the two laboratory courses that cover the area of fluid thermal sciences. The TFA Laboratory deals with topics in the areas of fundamental and applied thermodynamics, fluid power, basic and advanced heat transfer. The laboratory is equipped with a number of commercial bench-top, wall-mounted, and stand-alone experimental equipment which allows students to conduct a variety of experiments on temperature measurement, calorimetry, heat conduction, forced and free convection, heat exchangers, radiation heat transfer, solar radiation, refrigeration system, internal combustion engines, flue gas analysis, pump operation, and turbo machinery. In a traditional laboratory setup, students are required to submit a written report on each experiment. However, in this oral communication intensive laboratory, a series of spoken and written reports, along with an expert’s review on oral communication, group discussions, impromptu reports, observation and critical reviews, and formal oral presentations, are required to present the findings from several selected experiments. The activities related to oral reports and formal presentations are videotaped for later review by individuals and groups. New instruments of assessment have been developed to measure the outcome of the implementation. The assessment found that students were mostly positive on the experience and felt that they gained a significant degree of confidence in technical presentation, public speaking, and oral communication in general.